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DE Daily Shavers, What Is Your Weapon of Choice?

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After this thread runs for a bit I will try to tabulate the most popular razors for daily shaving. Looks like it is going to be a busy week for me so I am not sure when that will happen.

David, I think you could shave daily with a razor blade duct taped to a popsicle stick. :ouch1:

"Razor blade duct taped to a popsicle stick" is a good description for my Roedeter. ;)
roederter2.jpg
roederter1.jpg

*pics courtesy of @Esox
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
I'm a daily shaver and I'm not going to confuse with not to big a list of different razors. I like mid range or on the mild side of mid range.
If I use a mild razor I might use 3 pass shave WTG + XTG + ATG + pickups to get to my desired shave range CCS,DFS,BBS.
If I use a mid range I like to use a 2 pass shave WTG + ATG + pickups to get to my desired shave range CCS, DFS,BBS.
The less passes the better the shave because you reduce irritation or weepers IMO. I do not like the feel of sand paper in the morning so I like to shave daily.
A good DE daily driver is a Razorock SLOC, very comfortable shave and good shave range, CCS,DFS,BBS range, want a even closer shave just use a KAI SS blade which is a wider blade than a standard Gillette blade by .009 thousands or .0045 per side.
A good SE is almost any vintage Gem razor with a Gem Personna SS PTFE blade, use a mild Gem for the first couple shaves with a new blade.
Final Gem review Jan21-2019 (2).jpg

Another good SE is a vintage Schick injector adjustable or a E2 or G type injector models.
Schick injector M3 adjustable razor MFG 1970-72 (2).jpg
Schick E2 1937Pat  MFG 1930's &40,s(2).jpg

Depending on your technique you can almost use any razor to get to the desired level you want, BBS is kind of overrated but it is a gauge to let you or others know your shave.
Have some great shaves! Stay & think safe in these times.
 
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There are more than this but these are the main ones...

Wolfman WR2 .95 SB (Titanium)
Wolfman WR2 .95 SB
Wolfman WR2 1.0 SB
Wolfman WR2 1.05 SB
LA Shaving BBS-1
Timeless .68
Timeless .95
King Cobra
ATT SE1

Handles are generally Wolfman or UFO.

I mostly use the Wolfman .95 in titanium or the King Cobra, sometimes the Timeless .68.
 
the Henson Razor AL13 Medium SB with a blade gap of .85 mm and a blade exposure range of +.041 to +.061 mm.

I'm curious how it is that the Henson AL13 has a range of different blade exposures? According to Henson's specs, the Medium has a blade exposure of .002" or .0508 mm, which is right in the middle of the range you have stated. I know some guys "adjust" the Henson by loosening the handle, and I'm assuming that this would increase exposure, but wouldn't that also increase gap? Also, I assume Henson's published spec of .0508 mm exposure is for the razor fully tightened, so how would it be possible to decrease that down to .041 mm? Are you using shims?

I'm asking as a Henson AL13 user myself. While I don't always shave daily, when I do shave for consecutive days, the AL13 Medium, fully tightened, is my ride.
 
I'm curious how it is that the Henson AL13 has a range of different blade exposures? According to Henson's specs, the Medium has a blade exposure of .002" or .0508 mm, which is right in the middle of the range you have stated. I know some guys "adjust" the Henson by loosening the handle, and I'm assuming that this would increase exposure, but wouldn't that also increase gap? Also, I assume Henson's published spec of .0508 mm exposure is for the razor fully tightened, so how would it be possible to decrease that down to .041 mm? Are you using shims?

I'm asking as a Henson AL13 user myself. While I don't always shave daily, when I do shave for consecutive days, the AL13 Medium, fully tightened, is my ride.
It is from the Henson website. The range is based on the width variations between different DE blades.


Varying exposure
When designing the Henson Razor, we have found that in endeavouring to make an accurate razor, the biggest variable to manage is the consistency in blade width and other blade feature sizes. Manufacturing a blade not just accurately but consistently is a challenging task, resulting in variation in blade width. Consequently, our goal was to set the exposure and blade gap relative to the median size of the blade manufacturing results, though we still had to make our razor perform well when handling the complete range of sizes that can be produced. We have tested our razor using many blades but have found the best success when using Astra. The Astra blades measure very near that median size, have excellent rating and consistency of size, sharpness, durability, and of course come at a good price.

Given the range of blade widths that exist, it is actually more accurate to give a range of exposure that you can likely anticipate, rather than just a single exposure value.”


Exposure range
Mild.0007" - .0014"
[.018 - .036mm]
Medium.0016" - .0024"
[.041 - .061mm]
 
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Thanks very much for pointing to that explanation. I did not realize that there is that much variation in blade widths. And I give the folks at Henson two thumbs up for giving us such clear and precise technical information on their razors. Well done

Thanks again.
Glad that I can help. I have never seen another razor manufacturer give such a detailed explanation of blade exposure for their razors. It’s no wonder that razor blades are such a YMMV item.
 
I cycle through several razors regularly, and also use some others in my collection.
I use one for about 5-6 days straight then switch.

The ones that I use most frequently are my Gillette New and Old types.
 
I like variety in my razors, but will generally use a razor and blade 4-6 times in a row, daily shaving. This week has been Timeless with the .68 scalloped bar base and I can't fault it in any way. Today's shave is as good as Mondays. A lot of vintage Gillettes make excellent daily drivers as well, particularly English TTO models.
 
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